USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > History of Bridgeport and vicinity > Part 13
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Beside his active practice Dr. Wordin was associated professionally with a number of hospitals and other institutions where his serveies were invaluable. He was on the staff of the Bridgeport Hospital, was one of the managers of the Fairfield County Temporary Home and was physician to the Bridgeport Protestant Orphan Asylum for forty years. In 1890 he was appointed by Governor Morgan G. Bulkeley a member of the state board of health, an office which be filled so effectively that he was continued in it for nine years. Beside these positions involving the direct use of- his professional knowledge, he also held others of a more general kind. He belonged to many medical clubs and organizations and his unusually energetie nature rendered him active in all. He belonged to the Bridgeport Medical Society, of which he was secretary for two years and president for three years. He was also a mem- ber of the Fairfield County Medical Society and of the State Society and for seventeen years was secretary of the latter and its president for a year. During his incumbency he was very active in publishing the reports of the society, compiling and editing the same with infinite care and labor. In 1892, on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the organiza- tion, he brought out a centennial volume consisting of one thousand pages, entirely the work of his hands. He was also a member of the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association and a ebarter member of the American Academy of Medicine.
The activities of some men must often surprise their fellows because of their num- ber and variety and the endless store of energy necessary for taking part in them all. Such
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was the case of Dr. Wordin, who in addition to his many professional and semi-professional interests was active in a number of other departments of the community's life. He was con- spicuous socially and was an honored member of many of the most prominent clubs. He belonged to Elias Howe Post, No. 3. G. A. R., also held membership with the Sons of the American Revolution. the United Order of the Golden Cross, the Contemporary Club, and the Seaside Club, and in connection with his literary pursuits he was identified with the Fairfield County Historical Society. In the matter of religion he was affiliated with the First Con- gregational church of Bridgeport, in which he served as deacon for many years, and he was also active in Christian Endeavor work and in the Young Men's Christian Association.
On the 25th of December. 1879, Dr. Wordin was married to Miss Eliza Woodruth Barnes, a daughter of Dr. Julius Steele Barnes, a graduate of Yale College and of the Yale Medical School and a practicing physician of Southington, Connecticut. Mrs. Wordin attended the Golden Hill Institute and at the time of her marriage was a teacher in a private family of Wilmington, Delaware. One daughter, Laura Barnes, now deceased, was born to Dr. and Mrs. Wordin. Mrs. Wordin, who survives her husband, is related to many of the prominent Connecticut families and is a conspicuous figure in the society of the city.
Dr. Wordin's fondness for literary pursuits has been already mentioned and it was characteristic of his active nature that he should have followed up this interest indefatigably. Receiving a most liberal education in the arts and sciences in his youth, of which he availed himself to the utmost, he continued to read and study along those lines, retaining his inter- est therein throughout the remainder of his life and justly winning his reputation for liberal culture and profound learning. As was natural, his professional studies occupied the first place in his interest and he spared no pains to perfect himself in his chosen calling. He was also very fond of travel and and these two tastes he more than once combined in trips which he took for pleasure and for instruction. In 1899 he traveled to the Pacific coast and three years later went to Mexico. He also devoted much time to original writing and many of his papers on medical subjects were read before the American Medical Association and other societies of which he was a member. As a man he was uniformly respected and loved and the sorrow caused by his death was not confined to any community or class, but extended to all who were acquainted with him even most casually. Illustrative of the tone of the tributes paid to his memory after his passing, the Bridgeport Telegram in the course of a long obituary notice said: "The death of Dr. Wordin removes one of Bridgeport's foremost citizens, a man widely known for his kindly nature and his interest in the public welfare, beloved by all who knew him. Dr. Wordin was of that serene temperament which drew respect for his opinions from even those who differed with him. Like many of the old school physicians, he gave much of his time and service to alleviating pain and suffering, with no hope of recompense." As one spoke so spoke all, and the reputation which Dr. Wordin en- joyed both as a physician and as a man should serve as an inspiration and example to all young men who contemplate undertaking that difficult profession in which he so nobly dis- tinguished himself.
CARL F. DAVIS.
Carl F. Davis, senior partner in the firm of Davis & Dane, well known Bridgeport archi- tects, with offices in the Connectient National Bank building, was born in Hallowell, Maine, September 5, 1875. His parents were Albert H. and Ella (Fuller) Davis. The father, also a native of Hallowell, was there reared and educated and became a clothing merchant of that place, where at one time he also filled the office of town clerk. In 1878 he removed to Bridgeport, where he established a clothing store which he conducted for almost two decades, retiring in 1897, at which time he removed to Boston. There he continued in the clothing
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business up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1910. He was a representative of an old Maine family and his grandfather served in the War of 1812. His wife was born in Wayne, Maine, where she now makes her home.
Carl F. Davis was but three years of age when the family removed to Bridgeport and when a little lad of six years he entered the city schools, passing through consecutive grades to the high school. After putting aside his textbooks he entered the office of Joseph W. Northrup, a Bridgeport architect, with whom he remained for thirteen years, working his way steadily upward to the position of chief draftsman. In 1914 he entered into partnership with George W. Dane, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work, under the firm style of Davis & Dane, and in the intervening period of three years they have built up a business of sub- stantial and growing proportions. They are both well trained along the line of their chosen life work, thoroughly understanding every practical phase of the business and the great scientific principles which underlie it. They have executed many fine drawings as designs for public and private buildings and their patronage is steadily inereasing. Mr. Davis is well known in this city, where he has resided for almost forty years, covering practically his entire life.
WILLIAM O. BURR.
William O. Burr, postmaster of Fairfield and one of its best known citizens, is a native of the town of Fairfield. He was born May 30, 1866, and is a direct deseendant of Jehu Burr, Jr., who was born in England about 1625 and died in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1682. He was the purchaser of Weantenock, an extensive tract of land lying on both sides of the Housatonic river and comprising the present town of Milford, which also included other towns east and west. His partners in this enterprise were Captain Nathan Gould, who was afterward lien- tenant governor. and his brother. John Burr. These brothers were sons of Jehu Burr, who came to New England with Winthrop early in 1630 and settled in the Massachusetts Bay colony, while later they went to Fairfield, Connecticut. Peter Burr, who was a native of Fairfield, married Esther Jennings, a daughter of Dr. Seth Jennings, and they became the parents of nine children, the youngest of whom was Ebenezer Burr, who was born in Fairfield, December 23, 1798. and died November 28, 1873. He was married April 24, 1825, to Hannah Osborne, a daughter of Daniel Osborne, of Fairfield, and they, too, were parents of nine children. One of their sons. William Burr, was born in Fairfield and there spent his entire life, being engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was the owner of a silver tankard which was presented to Abigail Burr by her brother, Thaddeus Burr, in 1755. Thaddeus Burr also presented a similar one to his sister Eunice, who became the wife of Benjamin Wyncoop. The first mentioned tankard later formed a part of the communion service of the Fairfield Congregational church. On the tankard are engraved the words: "The gift of Thaddeus Burr to Abigail Burr, 1755." William Burr was married September 6, 1859, to Catharine Sherwood, a daughter of Silas Burr Sherwood, of Fairfield. Their children were: Annie S., who was born in May, 1861; Harriet E., in 1862; Sarah B., in 1864; William Osborne. May 30, 1866; Frederick A .. 1868; Kate L., who was born in 1870 and died May 11, 1872; Mary T., born in 1873; and Louisa A., born in 1879.
William Osborne Burr was born on the old homestead farm in Fairfield and was there reared to manhood. He attended the public schools of that district and made farming his principal occupation, giving it his full time and attention and winning success in the under- taking. He has been a lifelong democrat, always supporting the principles of that party, and he has ever taken a deep interest in the public schools of Fairfield. He served as a member of the school board for twelve years and has been a stanch supporter of the public school system, believing that the hope of the future of America lies in the education of its sons and
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daughters in lessons of patriotism that will lead to the upbuilding of this great country and its institutions. He has also served as a member of the board of relief in the town of Fairfield and in March, 1917, he was appointed by President Wilson postmaster of Fairfield to succeed S. C. Bradley, who resigned that office. Mr. Burr is filling the position to the general satisfaction of all and gives to his duties his entire time and attention.
Mr. Burr was married in Fairfield to Miss Aretta S. Sherwood and to them have been horn four children: Catharine, who was educated in the public and high schools of Fairfield; Aretta, who was also graduated from the high school and is now attending a physical culture school: William Eben, born in April, 1901; and Eunice D. Mr. Burr is a member of the Greenfield Country Club, of which he has been president. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church of Fairfield, in which he has filled the office of deacon for the past twenty years. He takes a deep interest in his native town, its people and its institutions, and is a man of progressive ideas, broad-minded and liberal in his views and foremost in every enterprise that is for the benefit of Fairfield.
THE WAKEMAN FAMILY.
The Wakeman family of Southport, Connecticut, of whom Miss Frances Wakeman is a representative. is one of the oldest and best known in this section of the state. A very interesting genealogy of the family was compiled and published in 1900 by Robert Peele Wakeman, a well known citizen of Southport. Jesup Wakeman, the grandfather of Miss Frances Wakeman, was born at Greens Farms, Fairfield county, February 12, 1771, and was a son of Jesup and Amelia (Banks) Wakeman, and the former was a descendant of the Rev. Samuel Wakeman, who was. one of the early ministers of the gospel in that town. Jesup Wakeman became a well known merchant of Southport. where he settled in the early part of the nineteenth century. He also owned several vessels and was one of the foremost business men and citizens of his locality. A man of marked enterprise and progressive spirit, he took a deep interest in the public affairs of his adopted town and its institutions and his efforts constituted a contributing element to the upbuilding of the community. He was one of the original directors of the Bridgeport Bank, being chosen for that office in 1807 and continuously serving on the board for twenty-one years. He occupied the position of United States internal revenue collector in the district which includes Fairfield from 1815 until 1818. He was also largely interested in the Turnpike Company, which built and owned a section of the new turnpike between New York and New Haven, and he was also interested in buying up fire land serip issued by the government to recompense the people for their losses by the British during the Revolutionary war. For this scrip he obtained government land, which he located in northern Ohio and the Western Reserve, and the town of Wakeman, Ohio, was named in his honor. His business affairs were so wisely managed and his invest- ments so judiciously made that he was one of the wealthiest men in his section of the state when he passed away at his home in Southport in May, 1844. He had been married on the 24th of May, 1792, to Miss Esther Dimon, who was born January 28, 1770, a daughter of William B. and Esther (Sturgess) Dimon and a descendant of one of the oldest families of this section of the state. She passed away March 17, 1855, and their eight children all have long since departed this life.
Zalmon Bradley Wakeman, son of Jesup Wakeman, was born in Southport, November 2, 1803, and was there reared to manhood, becoming in time one of Southport's best known and most highly respected citizens. He was also a very successful business man and left a large property to his family at the time of his death. He was greatly interested in church work and his life was characterized by the most rigid integrity and the utmost honesty of purpose. His demise occurred in Southport, February 12, 1865, and was the occasion of deep
Jesup Wakeman
Salmon Bradley Wakeman
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and widespread regret, his memory being honored by all who knew him. On the 23d of March, 1829, he had married Sarab Ann Fowler, who was born July 22, 1806, and was a daughter of Stephen and Mary (Strong) Fowler, of Guilford, Connecticut. She died July 30, 1873, and of her three daughters only Miss Frances Wakeman, the second in order of birth, is living. The others were Mary Fowler and Sarah White, the latter having passed away in infancy.
Miss Frances Wakeman was reared to womanhood in her native town of Southport, where she has spent her entire life. Her beautiful home, Rose Hill, which commands a View of Long Island Sound and surrounding sections of Southport, is one of the most attrac- tive places in this part of the state. Miss Wakeman is a lady of innate culture, possessing refined taste and artistic temperament. She is one of the best known women of Fairfield county and she takes a most active and helpful interest in the public affairs of the village of Southport and its institutions. This was manifest in the beautiful gift which she and her cousin, Miss Crapo, made to the people of Southport. The gift was a red brick building known as the Wakeman Memorial and erected in memory of their grandfather, Jesup Wake- man, at a cost of fifty thousand dollars, to be used by the boys and girls of Southport as a club house. The building is maintained by Miss Wakeman and in it are found a reading room, a sewing room and rooms for dancing and recreation where the boys and girls may find entertainment amid delightful and beneficial surroundings. Instruction is given to the girls in sewing and dancing is also taught. This building was opened in 1913 and it contains a bronze tablet on which is engraved the following: "The Wakeman Memorial, 1913. This building was erected and equipped for philanthropic work with funds contributed by Frances Wakeman and Cornelia Wakeman Crapo. Their grandfather, Jesup Wakeman, is remem- bered in its name. On Christmas day of 1913 it was opened to the youth of Southport in the hope that its privileges would enable and persuade them to grow up worthy in the com- munity which the donors love, regardless of circumstances or creed. Their welcome here depends alone upon the regard they show for that which the place provides."
Because of her beneficence in this matter Miss Wakeman will be remembered and her memory revered by the boys and girls of Southport for many generations to come. She is loved by the people of the town for her many acts of kindness and charity, for she is con- tinually extending a helping hand where assistance is needed. She was one of the organ- izers and charter members of the Dorothy Ripley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution at Southport, is its historian and has been a delegate to the national congress at Washington, D. C., several times. Her activities and her philanthropies for the benefit of Southport continue to make the name of Wakeman a most honored one in this community.
WILLIAM CRANSTOUN.
William Cranstoun, of Stratford, an attorney at law now successfully practicing in Hoboken, New Jersey, was there born September 1, 1843. His parents emigrated from Scotland and he was educated in a Scotch Presbyterian parish school and also in the public schools of Hoboken, New Jersey. Starting out in the business world, he turned his attention to mercantile lines for a brief period and later was in the office of the county clerk of Hud- son county, New Jersey. He also spent six months in the office of the United States revenue collector but other than this has never sought nor desired official positions. . On leaving the county clerk's office he took up the study of law under the direction of J. Harvey Lyons, who had married his sister and who directed the reading of Mr. Cranstoun for four years. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1875 and has since continuously practiced in the city of Hoboken, but expects to retire in May, 1918, after forty-three years' connection Vol. II-6
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with the profession in said city. Through four decades his office has been in one location and for some time his son, Kenneth Douglas Cranstoun, has practiced with him.
Mr. Cranstoun married into old Stratford families. He first married Annie I., daughter of Samuel and Eliza Plumb, November 9, 1871, and they had two children: Nellie Fairchild, who was born December 9, 1872, and passed away March 2, 1888; and Marion Grace, who was born May 19, 1876, married C. T. Horrmann and resides at Summit, New Jersey. Mrs. Cran- stoun departed this life March 26, 1878, and October 6, 1881, Mr. Cranstoun married her sister, Louise A., who died November 2, 1885, She had two childern: Kenneth Douglas was born February 6, 1883, married Marjorie B. Maynard, niece of Elliot Peck, of Stratford, and resides in Summit, New Jersey. Elsie was born April 16, 1884, married Arthur Wilson and lives in Glasgow, Scotland. On February 27, 1909, Mr. Cranstoun married Eva, daughter of Samuel W. and Amelia Benjamin, also a representative of an old Stratford family.
The house occupied by the Cranstoun family in Stratford was erected in 1780 and is one of the old landmarks of the town, although it has been much modernized by improvements made upon it in late years. Mr. Cranstoun is a member of the Central Presbyterian church of Summit, New Jersey, and he belongs to the Men's Club of Stratford.
J. I. FLINT.
J. I. Flint, of Fairfield, for twelve years town clerk and collector of taxes, was born on the 18th of September, 1880, in Bridgeport. He attended the public schools of Bridgeport and Fairfield and also the University School at Bridgeport, and later entered the Yale Law School, from which he was graduated in 1902. Since 1904 he has served continuously as town clerk and collector of taxes.
In 1908 occurred the marriage of Mr. Flint and Miss Clara L. Milbrook, a native of Bridgeport, and they have a daughter, Retha M. The family attend the Congregational church and Mr. Flint belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Improved Order of Red Men. Although his private practice and his official duties make heavy demands upon his time, he can always be depended upon to support a measure whose object is the advance- ment of his community along moral, civic or commercial lines.
ALBERT J. MERRITT.
Albert J. Merritt, a well known member of the Bridgeport bar and also prominent in con- nection with naval interests of the United States, was born in Mount Vernon, New York. In his boyhood days he came to Bridgeport with his parents and in due course of time com- pleted the high school course with the class of 1898. He prepared for professional activities in the Yale Law School, where he won his degree in 1901. He has since been a member of the Bridgeport bar and is a successful lawyer who has advanced steadily and today occupies a prominent position as an able advocate and safe counsellor. For more than ten years he has been prosecuting liquor agent of Fairfield county, and recently was special prosecuting attorney.
On the 9th of December, 1914, Mr. Merritt was united in marriage to Miss Grace E. Andrews of Bridgeport, and they have one child, Althea, born June 12, 1916.
Aside from his law practice and his home Lieutenant Merritt practically devotes his entire time to naval militia matters. In 1906 he passed an examination for a commission in the Connecticut Naval Militia and on the 23rd of April, 1909, was made a lieutenant, junior grade, while on the 2d of December. 1912, he was commissioned lientenant. On the 20th of
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May, 1915. he became state ordnance officer which position he now occupies, and he is also secretary of the National Naval Militia Association of the United States. When war was declared with Germany he was one of the first to leave Bridgeport to serve his country and was immediately assigned for duty as the senior watch officer aboard the battleship U. S. S. Georgia. He is a republican, has always taken an active interest in local polities, serving for four years as republican district chairman, and belongs to numerons clubs and social organi- zations of Bridgeport. He is an Elk and a prominent Mason, having taken the Royal Arch and Knight Templar degrees, while with the nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He is, however, first and foremost a lawyer, has membership in the Bridgeport and American Bar Associations and practices before both the state and federal courts.
H. A. MAYSE.
The important business projects which have made Bridgeport a great manufacturing and commercial center find a worthy representative in H. A. Mayse, who was born in Kansas, September 17, 1873. He was left an orphan during his early youth and went to Washington, D. C., with an uncle. In the acquirement of an education he attended the public schools and afterward became a pupil in the Moses Brown School at Providence, Rhode Island. Early in his business career he became identified with banking as an employe in the Lincoln National Bank in Washington, where he remained for several years. He came to Bridgeport in 1898 as a representative of the American Graphophone Company, and in 1901 he became associated with the H. O. Canfield Company in the capacity of bookkeeper. His ability and loyalty won him advancement and in 1907 he was made superintendent of the business. In 1908 he became acting secretary and in 1914 was chosen assistant treasurer. The following year he was elected secretary and in 1916 he was chosen vice president and treasurer, in which dual capacity he now serves, devoting his energies to the financial interests and management of the business. His early training in banking and his study of financial problems have well qualified him for the work which he has undertaken and in which he has made consecutive progress bringing him to a prominent and most creditable position in business circles in his adopted city.
On the 14th of October, 1903, Mr. Mayse was married to Miss Margaret T. Starr, a daughter of Major W. W. Starr, of Bridgeport. Politically Mr. Mayse is a republican, giving strong indorsement to the party, although never seeking office as a reward for party fealty. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, while along even more strictly social lines his membership is with the Algonquin and the Brooklawn Country Clubs.
JUDGE PATRICK KANE.
Judge Patrick Kane, a practicing attorney of Bridgeport and former deputy judge of the city court, was born on the 14th of November, 1848. in New York city, a son of Patrick Kane, Sr., whose birth occurred in Dublin, Ireland, in 1826, and who in 1847 came to the United States. The same year he was married in Brooklyn, New York, to Catherine Smith, also a native of Dublin, where they had grown up together. The father was a tailor by trade and at the time of the Civil war put aside all business and personal considerations in order to espouse the Union cause. His death occurred in 1868 of a disease contracted while at the front. His widow survived him for many years, passing away in 1898.
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